Blogs

5.04 am. Wake up full of energy. Go off for my morning walk. Resolve to get active again in  trying to solve my city's and my fellow-citizens' problems. 6. 04 am. I come back from my walk to find that the milk has not been delivered (or it's been taken away by monkeys, either of the simian or the human kind.) 6.06 am. I go off to get some milk sachets from the vendor at the corner. 6.18 am. I return with the milk to find that the newspaper guy has delivered the wrong papers to my doorstep.  6.19 am.…

When is a footpath not a footpath?When it's a death-trap....There is simply no reason why we should have such awful pavements; it's just sheer negligence and an attitude of "don't care".This was taken in J P Nagar 3rd Phase, close to the Ramana Maharishi Academy for the Blind. If we have such difficulty negotiating our roads and pavements....imagine what it must be like for those without vision.⊕

Process for name change in electricity bill (Note: A khata not required) 1. Get NOC (No objection certificate) from your Builder's Office on their letter head. This should indicate that builder has no objection for name change on electricity bill. 2. Get two forms (one AEH form and other indemnity bond form). Forms can be obtained from BESCOM offices or should be available in any stationery shop near BESCOM offices. Document is known as 'Name Transfer Document' and entire set of Indemnity Bond + Form + NOC format + File can be obtained from BESCOM office for Rs 300 or…

Perch, a Chennai-based theatre collective, in association with Rafiki of Bangalore, will be premiering their new play, Ms Meena, inspired by Durrenmatt's The Visit. The play will be staged at Rangashankara from July 28 - August 1.here is the wiki entry about the play.For bookings, contactRanga Shankara36/2, 8th CrossJ P Nagar, II PhaseBangalore - 560 078P: 080-26493982 / 26592777E: rstheatre@gmail.comW: www.rangashankara.org⊕

Having been away from Bangalore for a very long stretch, it felt wonderful to go to the monthly (second Sunday of the month) birding outing at Lalbagh.Those who came for the outing included people who were coming to Lalbagh for the first time, and  those trying birdwatching for the first time, along with more seasoned birders. Apart from the regular birding group, Anil G T and Guruprasad also brought about 30 children from Rajarajeshwari Nagar, and they formed a separate group who went to the Lalbagh Lake first.By about 8am, an assorted group of people got together, with experienced birders…

Viswanath Seetharam, general secretary, Outer Ring Road Companies' Association (ORRCA) shares the following information.The agara flyover while coming from HSR BDA Complex towards Iblur is open. The second flyover at agara for vehicles moving from Iblur side towards Silkboard is yet to be completed and may take a couple of months more. Also, the vehicles plying from Iblur towards Silkboard will be allowed to go straight from today in the road between the two flyovers at Agara junction. Earlier the vehicles had to take a compulsory left turn at 27th Main. Vehicles that may need to go to HSR/Agara have…

We seem to not bother too much when things don't work...or when people don't work! Here's a busy, busy autorickshaw driver...We also like to make things work in our own way, to suit ourselves....the regular fence and gate will not have enough space for the car to fit in, so we customize it.. an ingenious construction which does not violate the letter of the law, as this is the driveway, even though the fence goes outside the dimensions of the residential plot!

Courtesy: Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH). It isn’t often that an old structure gets added to the cityscape but exactly this happened two months ago when the Muzrai Department excavated the old tank associated with the Someshwara Temple in Ulsoor.A cowshed stood at the spot earlier and a little shop on one side. The unearthing of the tank involved demolition of portions of some houses along its sides and so naturally generated some controversy – the excavation is now mired in a court case.Like in the case of the temple itself, we have no exact date…

As I walk around my home, I am struck by the brightness of the colours around me, especially since the monsoons have moved in, and the trees have shed their summer dust and sereness. Here is the COPPER SHIELD BEARER, the tree is almost done with its yellow blooms that carpet the ground below it...now the copper-coloured pods that give the tree its name are out, and the tree looks so beautiful...The tree of the summer, theGULMOHAR,also sports a lot of green, and some of the red blooms that brighten up the summer days are yet on the tree: Would…

Finally there has been work happening on Harlur Park in the past few weeks. The contractor has built walls on two sides for the would-be-park. Levelling of one portion has been done, and a borewell dug – all for the contract worth Rs. 3 Lakhs. Last week evenings and nights have been busy with large low lying portion in the plot being filled with soil. The nutrient-rich soil is sourced from the Kaikondrahalli lake bed which is getting excavated, as part of the rejuvenation work. The contractor can do this only in the nights, because heavy vehicles are allowed free…